UNC football notebook

GREELEY — There is no rest for the University of Northern Colorado football team.

The Bears, 1-0 after Saturday’s 52-31 victory over the Colorado School of Mines, have just four days to prepare for opponent No. 2 — Western Illinois University.

The Bears will face the Leathernicks in a 6:05 p.m. game on Thursday, televised by CSTV, Direct TV, Channel 610.

“You can’t prepare for a game in that short of time,” UNC head coach Kay Dalton said. “We won’t take tomorrow (today) off because we’ll have the kids in here to watch tapes and to run, but we’ll only have two practices.”

The Bears’ travel plans eliminate a chance to practice on Wednesday, the day they leave for Macomb, Ill.

“I honestly don’t know anything about them, and we’ll have to adjust on the fly, no question,” Dalton said. “We’ll go in there and do whatever we can.”

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UNC sophomore wide receiver Cory Sleeth is anxious to face the Leathernecks and get a better gauge on his talent after hauling in seven catches for 231 yards and three touchdowns against the Orediggers.

“I want to see what I can do against a higher level of competition, and this week will be fun,” Sleeth said.

The Leathernicks opened their season with a 62-13 loss to Toledo (Ohio) Thursday night, and will have a normal week of practice to prepare for the Bears.

“We took that game mainly because it will be televised on national television,” Dalton said. “We’ll practice on Monday and Tuesday, and then go from there.”

* MAKE SOME NOISE: Saturday’s crowd of 7,554 was the biggest in Nottingham Field history. It was the first game with the entire east side of bleachers constructed, including a student section tabbed as “The Cage.”

* PASSING HAPPY: Cory Sleeth’s 80-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter tied the fifth longest passing play in UNC history. He entered the game with just 172 career receiving yards.

His 80-yard TD catch matched numbers when Corte McGuffey hit Keith Grable in 1998 against Adams State College. The longest reception in school history was from McGuffey to Dillan Micus in 1997 against South Dakota.

* LUCKY SEVEN: The Bears’ seven touchdown passes set a new team record, breaking the former record of six, which was accomplished four times.

* PRIVILEGED: UNC’s top donors were greeted to their own personalized parking spaces beyond the north end zone.

A total of 14 spaces were reserved.

* KICKIN’ IT: Justin Zaitz’s first field goal of the season, a 42-yarder, was just two yards short of his personal best. It was his longest in two seasons.

* LOOKING FOR MENDOZA: UNC punter Rafael Mendoza wasn’t needed to punt until there was just 5:10 left in the half.

* CUT: Former Bears Anthony Dunn and Adam Matthews were both released by the Houston Texans Saturday afternoon.

GREELEY — Nick Hager was oozing with confidence Saturday afternoon.

His numbers — 12-for-20 for 304 yards and five touchdowns — spoke for themselves in the University of Northern Colorado’s 52-31 victory over Colorado School of Mines at Nottingham Field.

Hager topped his career-best performance by accepting any challenge the Bears offense will face, including this week’s opponent, Western Illinois University, in Macomb, Ill., on Thursday night. The Bears will only have three days to prepare for the Leathernicks.